Mid-Atlantic Antique Radio Club - MAARC

12/30/2025

Today's post started out as a short one, but grew with discovery. Many of you have probably come across something related to the vintage electronics hobby made at some point by Japanese manufacturer Toshiba. I regularly come across Toshiba marked vacuum tubes. The very first stereo amplifier/tuner I ever purchased (and still have) was the Toshiba SA-400, a solid state unit manufactured from 1972-1974, that had a whooping 15 watts per channel (see photo). Most folks here in America presumed Toshiba to be a relatively new company back in that timeframe, but its roots actually went back a spell, way back. Here's a little history.

Toshiba's origins in communications trace back to 1875, when its predecessor, Tanaka Engineering Works (Tanaka Seizo-sho), was founded as Japan's first manufacturer of telegraph equipment. This company became a major supplier for long-distance communications as Japan modernized. Founded by Hisashige Tanaka, a celebrated inventor, Tanaka Seizo-sho was established in Tokyo to meet growing Japanese government orders for telegraphic equipment.

In 1893 the company was declared insolvent and taken over by Mitsui Bank, eventually being renamed Shibaura Engineering Works (Shibaura Seisakusho). It grew to be a major manufacturer of heavy electrical apparatus.

In 1890, separately, Hakunetsu-sha & Company was founded by Ichisuke Fujioka and Shoichi Miyoshi as Japan's first manufacturer of incandescent lamps. This company later diversified and was renamed Tokyo Electric Company in 1899.

In 1939, Shibaura Engineering Works and Tokyo Electric Company merged to form Tokyo Shibaura Electric Co., Ltd., an integrated electrical equipment manufacturer. The company was soon nicknamed "Toshiba," which became its official name in 1978.

In the post-World War II era, the company continued to innovate in communications and electronics, producing Japan's first broadcasting equipment in 1952 and its first digital computers in 1954.

Over the decades, Toshiba developed a range of communications technologies, including radio transmitters, air traffic control systems, business telephone systems, laptops and personal computers, and fiber optic technologies (through subsidiaries and joint ventures).

Toshiba's U.S. history began with establishing Toshiba America, Inc. (TAI) in New York in 1965, growing into a holding company for various operations in electronics, energy, and healthcare.

The Toshiba Telecommunication Systems Division (TSD) operated in the U.S. from 1975, supplying business phone systems and other solutions, until the business was wound down in 2017 amid broader corporate restructuring.

In 1981, the Toshiba Industrial Electronics Business Sector moved to Tustin, California, handling copiers, printers, medical systems, and components.

In 1985, Toshiba launched the T1100, the first mass-produced laptop PC, becoming a market leader.

In 1986, Toshiba acquired 3M's toner manufacturing business.

In 1999, Toshiba suffered a large class-action lawsuit over defective floppy disk drives in millions of laptops, leading to significant settlements that damaged brand reputation.

Within this century, the company continued to diversify, with separate entities like Toshiba America Information Systems (TAIS) in Irvine, CA (PCs, circuit boards) and Toshiba America Medical Systems (TAMS) in South San Francisco (MRI).

In 2015, Toshiba celebrated 50 years in the U.S., with TAI as the holding company for its various U.S. operations.

In 2018, Toshiba sold its laptop PC business to Sharp, exiting the consumer laptop market.

At present, Toshiba's focus remains on industrial, energy (power generation), and healthcare solutions, with key operations in Houston (motors) and other areas, aiming for continued innovation in business to business sectors.

In essence, Toshiba America evolved from a consumer electronics pioneer to a diversified industrial and energy technology provider, navigating major market shifts and legal hurdles to maintain its presence in the U.S. market.

We therefore can trace Toshiba's origins to 1875. Consider comparable U.S. corporations, like General Electric and Westinghouse. Westinghouse was established in Monroeville, PA in 1886 and GE was established in Schenectady, NY in 1892. Yes, Toshiba has been around a while. Even more astonishing is that Toshiba is still in existence. General Electric (GE) did not cease to be a U.S. corporation but instead completed a major breakup into three separate, focused public companies (Aerospace, HealthCare, Energy) in April 2024, effectively ending its era as a single giant conglomerate (though the aerospace arm kept the original name and ticker). The breakup process began with the spinoff of GE HealthCare in 2023, followed by GE Vernova (energy) in early 2024, and concluded with the final split. Westinghouse ceased being a purely U.S.-owned corporation when Japanese conglomerate Toshiba bought its nuclear division in 2006, following its sale by CBS in 1999, but the original industrial giant transformed into CBS Corp. in 1997 before its various parts were sold off, with the name and nuclear business later going through bankruptcy and acquisition by Brookfield Business Partners in 2018, maintaining the Westinghouse brand under foreign ownership.

Just thought you might want to know a little bit about Toshiba. Have any of you any experience with any of their vintage electronic products? Tell us about it.

12/29/2025

Today's post provides the answers to yesterday's quiz entitled the "Electronic Photogram Puzzle." This novel puzzle, created by John A. Comstock, and borrowed from the October 1961 edition of "Radio-Electronics" was intended to provide electronic technicians and hobbyists many minutes of fun (or frustration). The object was to see how many of the radio-electronic components you can identify correctly in the photo-diagram. Watch out - a couple foreign (nonelectronic) parts are thrown in just to mislead you!

To make it a little easier (I hope anyway), I included a part of the answer in the descriptions. For your responses, you were to provide the number from the photo that best associates with descriptions A through H. I have also included real pictures of the described items.

So, onto the answers.

A. 9 Volt Battery - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Photogram Number 6
B. Nail Clipper - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - Photogram Number 1
C. Drill Chuck Key - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - Photogram Number 3
D. Trimmer Capacitor - - - - - - - - - - - - - Photogram Number 5
E. Variable Resistor ( Potentiometer ) - Photogram Number 7
F. Fuse Holder - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - Photogram Number 2
G. Dual-Clip ( Mueller No.22 ) - - - - - - -- Photogram Number 8
H. Rubber Grommet- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Photogram Number 4

Did you get an Honorable Mention? Hope so.

12/28/2025

Another Sunday, another quiz. This one is a little different and is entitled the "Electronic Photogram Puzzle." This novel, puzzle can provide many minutes of fun (or frustration) for the electronic technician and hobbyist. The object is to see how many of the radio-electronic components you can identify correctly in the photo-diagram. Watch out - a couple foreign (nonelectronic) parts are thrown in just to mislead you!

To make it a little easier, I have included a part of the answer in the descriptions. For your responses, provide the number from the photo that best associates with descriptions A through H.

A. 9 ___ ______ - - - - - - - - - - Photogram Number ___
B. ____ Clipper - - - - - - - - - - Photogram Number ___
C. ____ Chuck ___ - - - - - - - - Photogram Number ___
D. Trimmer _____ - - - - - - - - Photogram Number ___
E. Variable ____ ( ____ ) - - - - Photogram Number ___
F. ____ Holder - - - - - - - - - - - Photogram Number ___
G. Dual-____ ( ____ No.22 ) - Photogram Number ___
H. Rubber _____ - - - - - - - - - Photogram Number ___

Honorable Mention goes to those who respond with the highest scores.

12/27/2025

Here is an interesting post and it points out something we all need to be aware of, that being we should be warry of findings based on artificial intelligence. After all, GIGO, garbage in/garbage out. This article is entitled "FOLLOWUP TO RADIO AND PRESIDENTIAL POLITICS," was written by Brian Belanger, and comes to us from the October 1992 "MAARC Newsletter."

"One of the things I like best about our MAARC Newsletter is the way that our articles stimulate the contribution of additional information from our readers. My article, "Radio and Presidential Politics," (p. 5, August 1992 issue), is a good example. It talked about how President Harding's Flag Day 1922 speech from Fort McHenry was broadcast on Baltimore's pioneer radio station, WEAR--a station which apparently disappeared after a couple of years. The article also noted that historian Thomas DiBacco claimed that this was the first presidential address via radio. A footnote to my article noted that another radio historian, George Douglas, claimed that Harding had made a radio address on Armistice Day 1921.
I did not research original sources to determine which historian was correct. But Ludwell Sibley, the Editor of the AWA's Old Timer's Bulletin, who is very knowledgeable about the history of AT&T and Western Electric, sent me clear documentary evidence that Harding's Armistice Day speech in 1921 was not carried by radio, but rather, by an AT&T landline hookup, as explained below.

Then Harry Schriver of Baltimore, President and General Manager of station WFBR for many years, wrote to shed more light on the history of WEAR, which became station WFBR. Thanks very much to Ludwell and to Harry for sharing their knowledge with us and helping make this story more complete and accurate.

Letter from Harry R. Shriver:

"I enjoyed your article 'Radio and Presidential Politics' in the latest MAARC Newsletter. Perhaps I can provide more information on WEAR, the Baltimore station which broadcast the first Presidential speech by Warren G. Harding.

WEAR was the first radio station in Maryland to broadcast a regular program schedule. WCAO had its license issued earlier, but broadcast programs on a regular basis later. There was also an amateur named Zamoiski who broadcast from his garage as an amateur at the time, but he never utilized his license as a commercial radio station.

WEAR, owned by the Baltimore Advertiser newspaper, had its inaugural program on June 8, 1922, from its studios at 7 St. Paul Street in downtown Baltimore. A few days later, on June 14th, it broadcast its first remote from Ft. McHenry. The address by President Harding was heard as far away as Virginia and Pennsylvania, according to the newspapers of the day. It was estimated that as many as 2,500 radio receivers existed in the area.

Two years later, WEAR was sold to the Fifth Regiment Officers' Association of the Maryland National Guard. The call sign was changed to WFBR, 'World's First Broadcasting Regiment.' The station was operated from the Fifth Regiment Armory for several years until the Officers' Association concluded there was no future in radio and sold the station to the Baltimore Radio Show, Inc., in 1927.

WFBR was owned and operate by that company until it was sold on September 16, 1988. It is now owned by Infinity Broadcasting, who changed the call letters to WJFK-AM to simulcast the programming of its FM station, WJFK-FM, Manassas, VA (Washington). WFBR is a 5,000-watt station at 1300 kHz, and is directional at night.

WFBR was long a leader in the industry, developing a number of innovations, including the first "man on the street" program, the first quiz show, "Quiz of Two Cities," pitting audiences from Baltimore and Washington against each other, and introduced Arthur Godfrey to the airwaves in 1929.

Godfrey was a Coast Guardsman stationed at Curtis Bay Coast Guard Yard in Baltimore. He appeared on an amateur talent show on WFBR one Saturday night and became so popular that the station, with the assistance of Governor Nice of Maryland, bought him out of the service (you could do that in 1929), and put him on the air as "Reds Godfrey, the Warbling Banjoist."

He became very popular in Baltimore for more than a year, when he became a disc jockey at WJAS, in Washington (now WTOP). He was the first broadcaster to display any personality on the air (announcers wore tuxedos to work), and caught the ear of columnist Walter Winchell, who wrote about Godfrey in his nationally syndicated column. Godfrey was then hired by NBC in New York and the rest is history.

WFBR also broadcast the first Orioles baseball game. In 1974, operating under an experimental license from the FCC, it was the first station in the United States to broadcast in AM stereo. Many notable broadcasters got their start at WFBR.

I went to work at WFBR in 1956 as a newscaster, sportscaster, and became General Manager in 1970. WFBR, originally WEAR, had a rich history in bringing radio to the people of Baltimore and Maryland.

It was with great reluctance and sadness that the company sold WFBR in 1988 after two years of losing money with Talk Radio. WFBR was protected from the sad decline of AM radio for many years by virtue of its origination of the Orioles Radio Network. However, the loss of the broadcast rights in 1987 was a fatal blow to the station's viability in the real world of AM radio of the late 1980s."

Letter from Ludwell Sibley:

"President Harding did indeed make a trans-continental address on Armistice Day, 1921, but it was purely a wireline job--Harding at Arlington, feeding a local PA system (Western Electric, of course), with AT&T carrying the signal to Madison Square Garden in New York and westward to the Civic Auditorium in San Francisco. AT&T Long Lines wasn't taking any chances on line failure: dual routes, with the section between Pittsburg and Denver diverse-routed via St. Louis (Fig. 1). There was an accompanying Morse order wire for coordination among repeater stations; even it was dual. Details are in the Bell System Technical Journal of April 1923."

So here is the Artificial Intelligence issue. On 20 November we posted Brian's first article on "RADIO AND PRESIDENTIAL POLITICS." The original article addressed the controversy regarding the first presidential broadcast, so I checked with Google AI. Here is what I posted: "So, regarding the date of the first presidential address carried by radio, I performed an Internet search using Google AI. The results, as collaborated by various sources, confirmed that the date of the first presidential address carried by radio was when President Harding delivered a broadcast address on Armistice Day, November 11th, 1921 during the dedication ceremony for the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery. . . " As we see from Ludwell's letter, this was incorrect. Obviously, Google AI was just basing its answer on other inaccurate data it found on the Internet.

Have you been snookered by AI? If your experience was at all related to our vintage electronics hobby, tell us about it.

12/26/2025

Here is a little WWII cathode ray tube (CRT) history that comes to us from a Sean Brady "At The Controls" Facebook post.

"The skiatron is a type of cathode ray tube (CRT) that replaces the conventional phosphor with some type of scotophor, typically potassium chloride.

When hit by the electron beam from the back of the CRT, this normally white material turns a magenta color, producing a dark spot or line on the display. The pattern remains on the display until erased by heating the potassium chloride layer.

Skiatrons were used as an early form of projection television display, particularly in radar stations during World War II. These tubes are also sometimes known as dark trace CRTs or dark trace tubes.

During World War II, radar displays using potassium chloride evaporated on a mica plate as target material were actively developed in England, Germany, the United States, and the Soviet Union. Being naturally cathodochromic, potassium chloride did not require any special processing or treatment to become a CRT target material.

When hit by the electron beam from the back of the CRT, this normally white material turns a magenta color, producing a dark spot or line on the display, which resulted in the term "dark trace" being applied to these devices. The pattern remains on the display until erased by heating the potassium chloride layer. This physical property is known as tenebrescence or reversible photochromism.

Skiatrons were used as an early form of projection television display, particularly in radar stations during World War II. The skiatron was mounted below a translucent plotting table surface and brightly lit with mercury arc stage lights. The image on the surface reflected onto the bottom of the plotting table, using a spherical mirror and a Schmidt corrector plate, in the same fashion as an opaque projector, producing an image of the radar display at a much larger size. In RAF stations, the surface had a map on it, in Royal Navy ships it was normally a series of radial lines. Operators viewing the surface would place markers on the projected traces, adding new markers as the traces moved. This produced trails of markers making the path of the targets clear.

A variety of methods were used to erase the skiatrons. UK radars used fans to cool the tubes which were being heated by the stage lighting of the projectors. Simply turning off the fans made the tube begin to warm up, the erasure taking perhaps 10 to 20 seconds. German examples used a thin, transparent layer of tungsten deposited on the front of the tube, which heated up when current was passed through it. This provided much faster erasing."

Interesting, no? Shipboard, as a junior officer in the Navy, a radar contact that had constant bearing/decreasing range, always required some sort of evasive maneuvering. How many of you have had experience operating a radar display?

12/25/2025

Here is a brief post for Christmas Day, and I bet you computer enthusiasts would have loved to have opened this as a gift this morning. It comes to us via the Icycol daily Facebook post.

"The Apple I, built by Steve Wozniak in 1976, was far from the sleek Apple devices we know today. Housed in a battered suitcase like box, it consisted of a bare circuit board, a cassette drive for storage, and a simple keyboard, all assembled by hand. At a time when computers were giant machines owned only by universities and corporations, the Apple I offered something revolutionary: a personal computer that anyone could set up, experiment with, and make their own. It was the spark that ignited the personal computing revolution.

What makes this machine so historic is how much it represents the spirit of early Silicon Valley. Wozniak built it almost entirely by himself, driven not by money but by the excitement of creating something new. With Steve Jobs helping to find buyers and create a vision, the Apple I became the foundation for a company that would eventually change the world. This humble, portable machine in a makeshift case is a reminder that even the biggest global innovations often begin with one person, a handful of parts, and a bold idea."

Any of our followers have a very early personal computer you would like to tell us about? We would love to hear about it.

12/24/2025

A little catchup for our Christmas Eve post. First off, Honorable Mention goes out to John C. Wise for a 5 out of 6 score on Sunday's Lissajous Pattern Quiz.

On December 17th we had a post about Robert Lindahl and his Northwestern Incorporated, Motion Pictures and Recording studio. It got a number of comments, particularly with regard to favorite bands of the 60's. MAARC Facebook follower Randy Painter pointed out that "NWI had their own record label (see photo), but neither "Louie Louie" was released on it." John Wise identified his favorite band of the 60's as being Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass! I particularly enjoyed Herb's "Whipped Cream & Other Delights" album (see photo), but as a young boy I am having a hard time remembering why. Long-time MAARC member Ed Lyon commented "The absolutely best band around here (The Mid-Atlantic region) in the 1960s was the Washington Redskins Marching Band and Bob Wagner’s hand-picked “Moonlighters”, a “big- band-sound” that did local gigs in the greater Washington DC area. Wagner and the Moonlighters were all members of the Redskins Band, and Bob played trumpet. Wagner also did proofreading of many issues of Radio Age (back then called MAARC Newsletter) in the 60s and 70s. The best band in the country was, of course, Doc Severinson’s Band who featured on the Johnny Carson Show on TV for years and years." Thank you Randy, John, and Ed for your comments.

Our 18 December Mel Blanc post also got a number of comments from MAARC members, all with regard to their favorite Mel Blanc character. Geoff Shearer said my favorite was Bugs Bunny. "What a maroon".

John D. Foell pointed out that according to Wikipedia, Foghorn Leghorn was inspired by a very popular radio show! "Foghorn Leghorn was directly inspired by the character of Senator Claghorn, a blustery Southern politician played by Kenny Delmar on Fred Allen's popular 1940s radio show. Foghorn adopted many of Claghorn's catchphrases, such as "I say..." and "That's a joke, son!" Delmar's inspiration for Claghorn was a Texas rancher who was fond of saying this." Anyhow the giant overblown rooster is a favorite of mine too.

Brian Belanger contributed that "My favorite Mel Blanc character was the railroad station announcer on the Jack Benny Show who called out: "Train leaving on track five for Anaheim, Azusa, and Cuc..,[long pause],,...amonga." In addition to the funny sounding announcement, Southern California residents caught the additional humor due to the fact that those three cities were in different directions, so the same train would not go to those three places. What is interesting about Brian's fav is that I remember the Bugs Bunny-era cartoon, specifically "Daffy Duck Slept Here" (1948), where the train conductor (Daffy Duck) announces stops including "Anaheim, Azusa and Cuuuuucamonga," making Cucamonga a recurring gag for Bugs and other Looney Tunes, who'd mention it as a far-off, quirky destination. Bugs himself also references it, saying he hasn't eaten since leaving Cucamonga in another cartoon, reinforcing its place as a funny, real-world location in their world.

Ed Lyon added "I think Mel Blanc did Jack Benny’s old Maxwell automobile, my favorite." I asked Google AI "What was funny about Jack Benny’s old Maxwell automobile?" Here was a summary of the response: The humor in Jack Benny's Maxwell came from its decrepit state, representing Jack's notorious stinginess; he'd keep this sputtering, antique car for decades, refusing to upgrade while its sounds (improvisations by Mel Blanc) were comically terrible, making the car itself a character symbolizing Benny's miserly ways. The central joke was that Benny was too cheap to buy a new car, even as the old Maxwell fell apart, highlighting his character's defining trait. Voice actor Mel Blanc created the hilarious, sputtering sounds, especially after a technical glitch forced improvisation, making the car's noisy starts and stops part of the gag. The car was an antique (often cited as a 1908 or 1916 model), ancient by the show's standards, and its continued existence was absurd. Other characters, like his valet Rochester, would comment on the car's terrible condition, like when Rochester delayed reporting it stolen because he was laughing so hard. In essence, the Maxwell wasn't funny because it was a Maxwell, but because it was a rusty, clunky, ancient car that perfectly embodied Jack Benny's cheapness for decades.

Thank you Geoff, John, Brian, and Ed for your comments. Of note, we didn't get any comments from our MAARC Facebook followers, some of which may be too young to even have memories of Mel Blanc. The last regular broadcast of Bugs Bunny cartoons on U.S. network TV, including public airwaves, was over 25 years ago on September 2, 2000, with the finale of The Bugs Bunny & Tweety Show on ABC, after which Cartoon Network acquired exclusive rights to the classic shorts, ending their long run on broadcast stations like ABC and CBS.

On 19 December we had a post about a transistor tester that used vacuum tubes that was designed by David Berning. Ed Lyon had this to say: "Complex system for a crowbar. We used single hydrogen thyratrons for crowbars on 12000-volt supplies that had 500uF capacitors on them for filtering. The peak thyratron current during a crowbar firing was up in the thousands of amperes, which would have taken many many vacuum tubes instead of the single thyratron." Referencing the fact that Dave gave the club a presentation on his ZOTL amplifier, John Wise commented "It's very fascinating the audio amplifier circuit designs that people have come up with. The ZOTL is something I never heard of before I saw this PDF. Never ever would think someone would use a DC to DC inverter to do the impedance matching. I wonder what class of audio amplifier you would call this ZOTL?" Thanks Ed and John for your comments.

Finally, commenting on Sunday's show and tell on Oscilloscope Art, MAARC member George Lemaster had this to say" "I enjoyed your presentation on the XY scope. I have a Rutt-Etra video synth, not yet restored, which has a 5" magnetic deflection XY output CRT and operates on a video input as in the attached link. It was built about 1972 before digital video effects were available. I also have HP and Tektronix XY displays.

https://share.google/Nec38Ke8UX7i1KBTb

Computer Image Corp (CI) in Denver built large XY analog systems with XY CRT output, one was called Scanimate. CI also built more a complex system, CAESER, which was controlled by a minicomputer but still used analog XY CRT output. It was used to create cartoon animation rather than cells and photography.

https://share.google/JmGUCXNqTxFrAYujS

Thank you for sharing George.

BTW, if you want to watch our last MAARC meeting, it was captured on video. Here is the Facebook link: https://fb.watch/EaH383on6Z/

That's it for catchup this week. Send us any comments you may have.

12/23/2025

Today's post hinges off of a Show-and-Tell feature we had at last Sunday's MAARC meeting in Centreville, VA.

So, you have a two-channel oscilloscope that can be set to XY mode that allows channel 1 to display horizontally, and channel 2 vertically. Or one that allows an external feed for the horizontal axis.

What if you could feed it a signal that could make it display images? How about animated images? And what if you could also play music to accompany those images.

Welcome to the world of Oscilloscope Art, or as it is also called Vector Synthesis, Vector Graphics (analog), Drawing with Sound, Waveform Art, or even Oscillons (referring to early electronic art by Ben Laposky). It's created by drawing images directly onto an oscilloscope screen using audio signals. The frequency, amplitude, phase, and timing of the input signals fundamentally control the resulting visual shape and where it appears on the screen.

Amplitude corresponds directly to the size of the image displayed on the screen. The voltage of the audio signal determines how far the electron beam is deflected from the center of the screen. Higher amplitude results in a larger display (e.g., a taller line or a larger circle). Lower amplitude results in a smaller display.

Frequency controls the speed at which the image is drawn and, crucially, how persistent the image appears. The refresh rate needs to be high enough that the image "persists" on the screen before the phosphor fades. Consistent frequency ensures a stable, static image. The human eye perceives a smooth shape rather than a moving dot. Varying frequency can be used to animate elements, but if the frequency drops too low, the shape will flicker or simply appear as a moving point of light.

Phase is perhaps the most critical element for generating complex 2D shapes, particularly when using a stereo signal in XY mode (where one channel controls the horizontal X-axis and the other the vertical Y-axis) [1, 2]. The phase relationship between two signals of the same frequency determines the shape created:

0° or 360° phase difference: The signals are perfectly in sync, producing a straight diagonal line.

180° phase difference: The signals are perfectly out of sync, producing a straight diagonal line in the opposite direction.

90° or 270° phase difference: The signals are orthogonal, resulting in a perfect circle.

Varying phase differences between the two channels allow for the creation of intermediate shapes, such as ellipses rotating into lines and back into circles, which form the basis for intricate oscilloscope graphics and animations.

The timing of the signal adjusts where on the screen the created image displays.

So, you may ask, what is the source for audio files that will display images on an o-scope? There are a number of options. Audio files designed to display images on an oscilloscope are primarily found through dedicated "oscilloscope music" creators and specialized software tools. These files are typically high-quality, lossless stereo formats (WAV or FLAC) where the left and right channels control the X and Y axes of the display in "X-Y mode".

Jerobeam Fenderson are Hansi Raber are two artists that are the most prominent figures in this field. For a fee, you can purchase and download their full albums, including tracks specifically engineered to create complex 3D-like geometries, from the Oscilloscope Music Shop.

Platforms like the r/oscilloscopemusic Reddit community often share downloadable .wav files created by hobbyists.

While artists like Jerobeam Fenderson post videos of their work on YouTube, extracted audio generally loses quality due to compression. High-fidelity original files are recommended for sharp, clear visuals on a hardware o-scope.

If you want to generate your own audio files from existing images or 3D models, several tools are available:

OsciStudio: A powerful software specifically for converting 3D objects and animations into audio files.

osci-render: An open-source tool available on GitHub that converts SVG images, text, and 3D objects into stereo audio.

Rabiscoscopio: A free program that takes standard SVG files and generates a corresponding WAV file for the oscilloscope.

Audacity: While not an automated converter, this free DAW can be used to generate and pan sine waves (e.g., a sine wave on the left and a 90° phase-shifted cosine wave on the right) to create basic geometric shapes like circles.

To successfully display these images, your setup must meet certain criteria:

X-Y Mode: Your oscilloscope must be set to "X-Y mode" to interpret the stereo audio as coordinates rather than a standard time-based waveform.

High Sample Rate: Use audio files with a high sample rate (e.g., 96kHz or 192kHz) to ensure smooth lines and detailed shapes.

Lossless Formats: Avoid MP3s; use WAV or FLAC to prevent compression artifacts that can distort the image with "noise".

DC Coupling: Ideally, your audio interface and oscilloscope should be DC-coupled to maintain the correct position of the image on the screen.

Here are a few links to videos that will give you examples of Oscilloscope Art, including some that are holiday oriented:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLc4EnsriUcfQPomSF3Eh6sB143HE2r0tf
https://www.facebook.com/reel/1189759913025790
https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1Xs2FbEoVf/
https://youtube.com/shorts/yPvbe8_bLzA?si=9v1JWRF_951ffARq
https://youtu.be/ka0VSRkkFbc

Here is a link to get you started with either a real or virtual o-scope: https://youtu.be/1YdpCH9v5Kk?si=ncUiz00QGZ77rwM5

Here is a link that will get you to files that oscilloscope artist Chris Allen put together that you can play from your computer into your o-scope:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1dBNj6WniA38wQldp5JbD0_3EadZwmOOu

Here is another link of Oscilloscope Art files, some of which you can download:
https://soundcloud.com/tags/oscilloscope%20music

So, what are you going to do this that o-scope that has been sitting in the corner for a while? Have fun.

Music made for Oscilloscope viewing! Free HD downloads available for all tracks so you can play the music through your oscilloscope ----------- Get all the H...